Which Language?, a photo from Odeska, West

Photographer's Note

In Odesa/Odessa you have to realise what language you are reading first before finding out which direction to go. That is because the signs have the street maps in both Ukranian and Russian. Just to make it really fun, most of the maps for visitors are written in the Roman/Latin alphabet while the street signs are in Cyrillic plus some of the street names have changed since the maps were produced.

Given a few moments for translation, at least one of the streets at an intersection can be interpreted; however, with out the other one, I would sometimes end up walking the wrong direction down the street.

Greg1949, Delfin, maloutim heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

Greg1949 (9011) 2007-09-01 5:22

Very informative shot Dan, color and detail are good and the subject is really unique. Greg

Delfin (1529) 2007-09-15 13:33

but this is a truly charm of Odessa!!
you caught it!!
Odessa is a famous place known for humor, and for locals: if you ask them for a direction, they will always send you somewhere else. And usually not because they don't know where the place you need is, but because they will convince you that you have to go somewhere else. A couple of times I asked how to get to a certain street, and was replied with the question: why do you need it? since I had only "touristic" intentions, I immediately was told that my choice was wrong, and was given detailed directions on how to get to a different - apparently, the most interesting on their opinion - place.
Isn't is charming? ))
cheers,
Olga

sonichko (0) 2007-10-31 11:21 [Comment]

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maloutim (13617) 2008-03-30 18:52

Hi Dan!
I understand the confusion! I can't read Cyrillic, but I can see that both these signs say the same thing for 2 different directions! So, how to know what to do?
Another thing puzzles me: I know a Polish girl who told me that Ukrainian and Polish are practically the same language, like Dutch and Flemish! But would it be that they use different alphabets? Because the Polish definitely use the Roman alphabet!
Apart from the interest concerning the languages, I like the composition of your photo, with the great sharpness and lines of the old street lamp and road sign against the blurred background!
TFS.
Marie-Louise.